Methods and systems for location specific operations

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for performing user accommodations are described. An exemplary system may include an electronic device configured to receive audiovisual content and/or user inputs. The electronic device may further include one or more processors as well as memory, which when executed by the one or more processors, cause them to perform one or more locating functions to locate one or more users of the electronic device, and determine a level of interaction for the one or more users based at least in part on the location. The one or more processors may further be caused to perform at least one accommodation function based at least in part on the determined level of interaction for the one or more users or location of the one or more users.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/107,132, filed Dec. 16, 2013, entitled “METHODS AND SYSTEMSFOR LOCATION SPECIFIC OPERATIONS,” the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference, in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present technology relates to systems and methods for accommodatinga user of an electronic device. More specifically, the presenttechnology relates to accommodating a user of an electronic device basedon the user's relative location and/or level of interaction.

BACKGROUND

As technology, such as audiovisual technology, continues to improve, avariety of modifications can be performed based on user preferences. Forexample, if a viewer is watching a movie, the viewer may have apreference regarding whether a movie is displayed in a widescreen formator has been adjusted to maximize screen space for a display. However,with many potentially available users of the devices in a singlehousehold, different preferences may be had by each viewer, and eachviewer may have to adjust these preferences whenever he or she decidesto utilize the technology. This may result in frustration for viewerswishing for simpler ways by which their preferences may be used.

Thus, there is a need for improved methods and systems for identifyingusers of audiovisual technology and performing operations that mayaccommodate each specific user. These and other needs are addressed bythe present technology.

SUMMARY

Systems and methods for performing user accommodations are described. Anexemplary system may include an electronic device configured to receiveaudiovisual content and/or user inputs. The electronic device mayfurther include one or more processors as well as memory, which whenexecuted by the one or more processors, cause them to perform one ormore locating functions to locate one or more users of the electronicdevice, and determine a level of interaction for the one or more usersbased at least in part on the location. The one or more processors mayfurther be caused to perform at least one accommodation function basedat least in part on the determined level of interaction for the one ormore users or location of the one or more users.

The one or more processors may cause the electronic device to perform ascan to locate the one or more users. In disclosed embodiments at leastone of the one or more users may be located based on the location of acontrolling device. Controlling devices may include a variety of devicesincluding remote controls, mobile devices, video game controllers, andcomputing devices. The controlling device or devices may becommunicatively coupled with the electronic device, and may include awired or wireless connection. Exemplary controlling devices may beconfigured to send signal information to the electronic device on apredetermined basis, and the signal information may include locationinformation. In disclosed embodiments the accommodation function mayinclude an adjustment of at least one audiovisual component. Forexample, the accommodation function may include automatically adjustingan audio component, and the accommodation function may includeautomatically adjusting a video component.

In exemplary devices, the one or more processors may be further causedto identify at least one user as a controlling user subsequent tolocating that user. The accommodation function may include an automaticadjustment of the display property for the audiovisual content based ona predetermined preference of the identified controlling user. Indisclosed embodiments the electronic device may determine that the userhas a high level of interaction, and the accommodation may includemaking available at least one interactive component of a broadcast beingtransmitted from the electronic device to the display device. Theelectronic device may also determine that the user has a low level ofinteraction, and the accommodation may include automaticallytransmitting an interactive message to the display device or acontrolling device requesting a response from at least one user. Theinteractive message may include a request to transfer a broadcast fromthe display device communicatively coupled with the electronic device toan alternative display device. The interactive message may also includea request for response based on inactivity determined by the electronicdevice.

Methods of accommodating a user of an electronic device are alsodescribed and may include locating one or more users with the electronicdevice. The methods may include determining with the electronic device alevel of interaction for the one or more users based at least in part onthe location of the one or more users. The methods may also includeperforming at least one accommodation with the electronic device basedat least in part on the determined level of interaction for the one ormore users or the location of the one or more users. The methods mayfurther include identifying at least one user as a controlling userafter locating that particular user. The identifying operation of themethods may include determining an identity of the controlling user andpresenting the message to the user requesting confirmation of theidentity of the controlling user.

Such technology may provide numerous benefits over conventionaltechniques. For example, as soon as a user is positioned in a favoritelocation or using a specific controlling device, the electronic devicemay automatically determine who that user is and adjust preferencesaccordingly. Additionally, by monitoring the location of the user orcontrolling device, the electronic device may adjust audiovisualparameters based on where a user may be or to where a user may havemoved. These and other embodiments, along with many of their advantagesand features, are described in more detail in conjunction with the belowdescription and attached figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the disclosedembodiments may be realized by reference to the remaining portions ofthe specification and the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a simplified media service system that may be used inaccordance with embodiments of the present technology.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary electronic device that may be used inaccordance with embodiments of the present technology.

FIG. 3 illustrates modular components that may be used in accordancewith embodiments of the present technology.

FIG. 4 shows a simplified flow diagram of a method for performing a useraccommodation according to embodiments of the present technology.

FIG. 5 shows another simplified flow diagram of a method for performinga user accommodation according to embodiments of the present technology.

FIG. 6 shows a simplified computer system that may be utilized toperform one or more of the operations discussed.

In the appended figures, similar components and/or features may have thesame numerical reference label. Further, various components of the sametype may be distinguished by following the reference label by a letterthat distinguishes among the similar components and/or features. If onlythe first numerical reference label is used in the specification, thedescription is applicable to any one of the similar components and/orfeatures having the same first numerical reference label irrespective ofthe letter suffix.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present technology is directed to performing accommodations for oneor more users of an electronic device based on the user location and/orlevel of interaction. The technology can allow users to have theirpreferences enacted automatically, as well as to have the experiencebased on utilizing the device improved or facilitated. In so doing,users may experience improved sound and viewing, along with reducingfrustrations associated with having to manually adjust preferences orcomponents while participating. These and other benefits will beexplained in detail below.

Although embodiments detailed herein are directed toward controllingtelevision based equipment, the principles easily can be extended toother types of content and devices, such as DVD equipment, digital videorecorder (DVR) equipment, video game equipment, computer equipment,handheld electronic devices, and the like. In addition, the terms“television” or “television service” can include traditional televisionprogramming, such as linear television programs, as well as other typesof audio, video and/or audiovideo content, such as on-demand videocontent, on-demand or streaming audio content, streaming video contentand the like delivered via any type of content delivery systems, such ascable, satellite, cellular/wireless, Internet/IP, and/or any othercontent delivery technology or system currently known or hereafterdeveloped. Furthermore, embodiments herein describe set-top boxes orreceivers and/or other devices being connected with a television orother device having an electronic display. However, the electronicdevice can also be incorporated into or be a part of the device havingthe display or display device, such as a television with an integratedcable, satellite or IPTV receiver. Alternatively, the electronic devicemay be a DVR or DVD player including the present technology. Thetechnology discussed herein additionally can be extended to any of avariety of other electronic devices, display devices, or combineddevices, such as, for example, computers, tablets, hand-held mobiledevices, cell phones, e-readers, personal media players, and the like. Aperson of ordinary skill in the art will recognize various alterations,additions, omissions, and substitutions.

FIG. 1 is a simplified illustration of an embodiment of a satellitetelevision distribution system 100. Satellite television distributionsystem 100 may include: television service provider system 110,satellite transmitter equipment 120, satellites 130, satellite dish 140,set-top box (STB) 150, and television 160. The television 160 can becontrolled by a user 153 using a remote control device 155 that can sendwireless signals 157 to communicate with the STB 150 and/or television160. Although discussed as being wireless for user convenience, thetechnology may additionally include a wired coupling between the remotecontrol device 155 and STB 130 or television 160. Alternate embodimentsof the satellite television distribution system 100 may include fewer orgreater numbers of components. While only one satellite dish 140, STB150 and television 160, collectively referred to as user equipment, areillustrated, it should be understood that multiple (tens, thousands,millions, etc.) instances of user equipment may be connected within thedata communication network 190.

Television service provider system 110 and satellite transmitterequipment 120 may be operated by a television service provider. Atelevision service provider may distribute television channels,on-demand programming, programming information, and/or other services tousers. Television service provider system 110 may receive feeds of oneor more television channels or audio channels from various sources. Suchtelevision channels may include multiple television channels thatcontain the same content, but may be in different formats, such ashigh-definition and standard-definition. To distribute such televisionchannels to users, feeds of the television channels may be relayed touser equipment via one or more satellites via transponder streams.Satellite transmitter equipment 120 may be used to transmit a feed ofone or more television channels from television service provider system110 to one or more satellites 130. While a single television serviceprovider system 110 and satellite transmitter equipment 120 areillustrated as part of satellite television distribution system 100, itshould be understood that multiple instances of transmitter equipmentmay be used, possibly scattered geographically to communicate withsatellites 130. Such multiple instances of satellite transmittingequipment may communicate with the same or with different satellites.Different television channels may be transmitted to satellites 130 fromdifferent instances of transmitting equipment. For instance, a differentsatellite dish of transmitting equipment 120 may be used forcommunication with satellites in different orbital slots.

Satellites 130 may be configured to receive signals, such as streams oftelevision channels, from one or more satellite uplinks such assatellite transmitter equipment 120. Satellites 130 may relay receivedsignals from satellite transmitter equipment 120, and/or other satellitetransmitter equipment, to multiple instances of user equipment viatransponder streams. Different frequencies may be used for uplinksignals 170 from transponder stream 180. Satellites 130 may be ingeosynchronous orbit. Each satellite 130 may be in a different orbitalslot, such that the signal path between each satellite, transmitterequipment, and user equipment vary. Multiple satellites 130 may be usedto relay television channels from television service provider system 110to satellite dish 140. Different television channels may be carriedusing different satellites. Different television channels may also becarried using different transponders of the same satellite; thus, suchtelevision channels may be transmitted at different frequencies and/ordifferent frequency ranges. As an example, a first and second televisionchannel may be carried on a first transponder of satellite 130 a. Athird, fourth, and fifth television channel may be carried using adifferent satellite or a different transponder of the same satelliterelaying the transponder stream at a different frequency. A transponderstream transmitted by a particular transponder of a particular satellitemay include a finite number of television channels, such as seven.Accordingly, if many television channels are to be made available forviewing and recording, multiple transponder streams may be necessary totransmit all of the television channels to the instances of userequipment.

Satellite dish 140 may be a piece of user equipment that is used toreceive transponder streams from one or more satellites, such assatellites 130. Satellite dish 140 may be provided to a user for use ona subscription basis to receive television channels provided by thetelevision service provider system 110, satellite uplink 120, and/orsatellites 130. Satellite dish 140 may be configured to receivetransponder streams from multiple satellites and/or multipletransponders of the same satellite. Satellite dish 140 may be configuredto receive television channels via transponder streams on multiplefrequencies. Based on the characteristics of set-top box (STB) 150and/or satellite dish 140, it may only be possible to capturetransponder streams from a limited number of transponders concurrently.For example, a tuner of STB 150 may only be able to tune to a singletransponder stream from a transponder of a single satellite at a time.

In communication with satellite dish 140, may be one or more sets ofreceiving equipment. Receiving equipment may be configured to decodesignals received from satellites 130 via satellite dish 140 for displayon a display device, such as television 160. Receiving equipment may beincorporated as part of a television or may be part of a separatedevice, commonly referred to as a set-top box (STB). Receiving equipmentmay include a satellite tuner configured to receive television channelsvia a satellite. In FIG. 1, receiving equipment is present in the formof set-top box 150. As such, set-top box 150 may decode signals receivedvia satellite dish 140 and provide an output to television 160. FIG. 2provides additional details of receiving equipment.

Television 160 may be used to present video and/or audio decoded byset-top box 150. Set-top box 150 may also output a display of one ormore interfaces to television 160, such as an electronic programmingguide (EPG). In some embodiments, a display device other than atelevision may be used.

Uplink signal 170 a represents a signal between satellite uplink 120 aand satellite 130 a. Uplink signal 170 b represents a signal betweensatellite uplink 120 b and satellite 130 b. Each of uplink signals 170may contain streams of one or more different television channels. Forexample, uplink signal 170 a may contain a certain group of televisionchannels, while uplink signal 170 b contains a different grouping oftelevision channels. Each of these television channels may be scrambledsuch that unauthorized persons are prevented from accessing thetelevision channels.

Transponder stream 180 a represents a signal between satellite 130 a andsatellite dish 140. Transponder stream 180 b represents a signal pathbetween satellite 130 b and satellite dish 140. Each of transponderstreams 180 may contain one or more different television channels in theform of transponder streams, which may be at least partially scrambled.For example, transponder stream 180 a may include a first transponderstream containing a first group of television channels, whiletransponder stream 180 b may include a second transponder streamcontaining a different group of television channels. A satellite maytransmit multiple transponder streams to user equipment. For example, atypical satellite may relay thirty-two transponder streams viacorresponding transponders to user equipment. Further, spot beams arepossible. For example, a satellite may be able to transmit a transponderstream to a particular geographic region, e.g., to distribute localtelevision channels to the relevant market. Different televisionchannels may be transmitted using the same frequency of the transponderstream to a different geographic region.

FIG. 1 illustrates transponder stream 180 a and transponder stream 180 bbeing received by satellite dish 140. For a first group of televisionchannels, satellite dish 140 may receive a transponder stream oftransponder stream 180 a; for a second group of channels, a transponderstream of transponder stream 180 b may be received. STB 150 may decodethe received transponder stream. As such, depending on which televisionchannel(s) are desired, a transponder stream from a different satellite,or a different transponder of the same satellite, may be accessed anddecoded by STB 150. Further, while two satellites are present insatellite television distribution system 100, in other embodimentsgreater or fewer numbers of satellites may be present for receiving andtransmitting transponder streams to user equipment.

Network 190 may serve as a secondary communication channel betweentelevision service provider system 110 and set-top box 150. Via such asecondary communication channel, bidirectional exchange of data mayoccur. As such, data may be transmitted to television service providersystem 110 via network 190. Data may also be transmitted from televisionservice provider system 110 to STB 150 via network 190. Network 190 maybe the Internet. While audio and video services may be provided to STB150 via satellites 130, feedback from STB 150 to television serviceprovider system 110 may be transmitted via network 190.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a satellite-based television channeldistribution system. It should be understood, however, that at leastsome of the aspects of such a system may be similar to a cabletelevision distribution system. For example, in a cable televisionsystem, rather than using satellite transponders, multiple RF channelson a cable may be used to transmit streams of television channels. Assuch, aspects detailed herein may be applicable to cable televisiondistribution systems. It is also to be understood that the technologydisclosed herein can be practiced on and by cable, satellite,internet-based, over-the-air, or any other system that distributes videofor display.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of a set-top box200, or alternatively a television receiver 200. STB 200 may be set-topbox 150 of FIG. 1, or may be incorporated as part of a television, suchas television 160 of FIG. 1. STB 200 may include: processors 210, tuners215, network interface 220, non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium 225, electronic programming guide (EPG) 230, television interface235, networking information table (NIT) 240, digital video recorder(DVR) 245, user interface 250, demultiplexer 255, smart card 260, and/ordescrambling engine 265. In other embodiments of STB 200, fewer orgreater numbers of components may be present. It should be understoodthat the various components of STB 200 may be implemented usinghardware, firmware, software, and/or some combination thereof. Forexample, EPG 230 may be executed by processors 210.

Processors 210 may include one or more general-purpose processorsconfigured to perform processes such as tuning to a particular channel,displaying the EPG, and/or receiving and processing input from a user.Processors 210 may include one or more special purpose processors. Forexample, processors 210 may include one or more processors dedicated todecoding video signals from a particular format, such as MPEG, foroutput and display on a television and for performing decryption. Itshould be understood that the functions performed by various modules ofFIG. 2 may be performed using one or more processors. As such, forexample, functions of descrambling engine 265 may be performed byprocessor 210.

Tuners 215 may include one or more tuners used to tune to televisionchannels, such as television channels transmitted via satellite orcable. Network interface 220 may be used to communicate via an alternatecommunication channel with a television service provider. Storage medium225 may represent a non-transitory computer readable storage medium.Storage medium 225 may include memory and/or a hard drive. Storagemedium 225 may be used to store information received from one or moresatellites and/or information received via network interface 220.Storage medium 225 may store information related to EPG 230, NIT 240,and/or DVR 245. Recorded television programs may be stored using storagemedium 225.

EPG 230 may store information related to television channels and thetiming of programs appearing on such television channels. EPG 230 may bestored using non-transitory storage medium 225, which may be a harddrive. Audio/video decoder 233 may serve to convert encoded video andaudio into a format suitable for output to a display device. Televisioninterface 235 may serve to output a signal to a television, or anotherform of display device, in a proper format for display of video andplayback of audio. The network information table (NIT) 240 may storeinformation used by set-top box 200 to access various televisionchannels. Digital Video Recorder (DVR) 245 may permit a televisionchannel to be recorded for a period of time. DVR 245 may store timersthat are used by processors 210 to determine when a television channelshould be tuned to and recorded to DVR 245 of storage medium 225. Insome embodiments, a limited amount of storage medium 225 may be devotedto DVR 245. Timers may be set by the television service provider and/orone or more users of the STB. DVR 245 may be configured by a user torecord particular television programs. Whether a user directly tunes toa television channel or DVR 245 tunes to a first television channel, NIT240 may be used to determine the satellite, transponder, ECM PID (packetidentifier), audio PID, and video PID.

User interface 250 may include a remote control, physically separatefrom STB 200, and/or one or more buttons on STB 200 that allows a userto interact with STB 200. User interface 250 may be used to select atelevision channel for viewing, view EPG 230, and/or program DVR 245.Demultiplexer 255 may be configured to filter data packets based onPIDs. For example, if a transponder data stream includes multipletelevision channels, data packets corresponding to a television channelthat is not desired to be stored or displayed by the user, may beignored by demultiplexer 255. Descrambling engine 265 may use thecontrol words output by smart card 260 in order to descramble videoand/or audio corresponding to television channels for storage and/orpresentation.

For simplicity, STB 200 of FIG. 2 has been reduced to a block diagram,and commonly known parts, such as a power supply, have been omitted.Further, some routing between the various modules of STB 200 has beenillustrated. Such illustrations are for exemplary purposes only. Twomodules not being directly or indirectly connected does not indicate themodules cannot communicate. Rather, connections between modules of theSTB 200 are intended only to indicate possible common data routing. Itshould be understood that the modules of STB 200 may be combined into afewer number of modules or divided into a greater number of modules.Further, the components of STB 200 may be part of another device, suchas built into a television. Also, while STB 200 may be used to receive,store, and present television channels received via a satellite, itshould be understood that similar components may be used to receive,store, and present television channels via a cable network. Although STB200 is identified as a suitable device with which to practice thedisclosed technology, it is to be understood that any number of devicesmay be utilized that are capable of transmitting, displaying, andprocessing video content, including televisions, DVRs, DVD players,hand-held devices, tablets, computers, etc.

FIG. 3 is an illustration of an embodiment of modular components of anapplication 300 that may include hardware, software, firmware or anysuch combination, which may be used to perform the present technologicalfunctions. In disclosed embodiments, application 300 may include more orless modules, and the modules may additionally be separated intomultiple modules, or the modules may be combined. The modules mayadditionally be aspects of more than one application run by one or moreprocessors, such as processors 210 of device 200, or processors 610described below. The application may be stored in memory such as memory635 as described in detail below. In this embodiment, the modules may berun concurrently, in differing order, or without one or more of thespecified modules in order to perform the technological functionsdescribed herein. The modules of application 300 will be discussed inreference to STB 200 as previously described, but it is to be understoodthat the application 300 may be incorporated with a variety of otherelectronic devices including a DVR, DVD player, television, computer,tablet, or hand-held device.

An electronic device, such as STB 200 as previously discussed withrespect to FIG. 2, may include at least one input component configuredto receive audiovisual content, such as from television service provider110, or from an incorporated or otherwise connected video content playersuch as a DVR or DVD player. Additionally, STB 200 may be configured toreceive audio and/or video data from additional sources accessed vianetwork 190. STB 200 may also include at least one user input componentconfigured to receive one or more user instructions, such as from remotecontrol 155. STB 200 may include at least one output componentcommunicatively coupled with a display device, such as television 160.The electronic device may be directly coupled with the display device orotherwise in communication with the device such that video data may betransmitted wirelessly, for example. The STB 200 may also be configuredwith multiple output components, which may be configured to providevideo data to multiple display devices. The STB 200 may send a mainvideo as received from the service provider to the main display device,such as television 160, and also send an additional video data stream toan additional display device, such as a laptop, smartphone, or otherdevice capable of receiving a video display (not shown).

The electronic device may include one or more processors, as well asmemory, that coordinate to perform the application 300. In operation,optionally included content receiver 310 may receive audio and/or videocontent as received into the electronic device, or another electronicdevice. The content receiver 310 may be optional, for example, orunnecessary in the case of a DVD player, which may generate or retrievethe content from an inserted disc. User locator 320 may perform one ormore locating functions in order to locate one or more users of theelectronic device. The electronic device may locate users in one or moreways including the relative location of the user or a controllingdevice, or based on an input provided by one or more users. For example,the electronic device may perform a scan of an area or space about theelectronic device in order to determine the location of users. The scanmay be performed when the electronic device is powered on, and may occurautomatically at intermittent intervals such as milliseconds, seconds,minutes, hours, etc., in order to update user location periodically.

The scan may include IR technology, or any other technology suitable toscan an area for motion, heat, or any other characteristics that mightbe used to identify the position of one or more users. In one exemplaryscan technique, not to be used to limit the technology, the electronicdevice may utilize a depth map with a projected image, such asstructured light, as well as other vision techniques including depthfrom focus or depth from stereo to determine object locations. Theelectronic device may then map human features onto the depth map, suchas arms, etc., to infer body position of potential users. Any movementof users may similarly be used to identify users or body movement at anytime during the use of the device. Additional input such as soundtracking, including voices, may be used to determine location as well.For example, user voices for alternative users may be saved in profiles,and during a scanning operation, voices may be used to further identifylocation or identity of users. In embodiments, the electronic device maypresent a request for a voice instruction in order to provideinformation useful for such identification.

In disclosed embodiments, at least one of the one or more users mayadditionally or alternatively be located based on the location of acontrolling device. The controlling device may be any number ofcomponents, and may include a remote control associated with theelectronic device, a videogame controller, a mobile device, or acomputing device. Such a controlling device may be communicativelycoupled with the electronic device, which may include a wired orwireless connection in various embodiments. The controlling device mayintermittently or continuously update the electronic device on thelocation of the controlling device, which may be used as an indicatorfor the location of a user. For example, a user may be holding a remotecontrol or have it placed proximate the user, which can be used toinstruct the electronic device of the relative position of the user. Asanother example, the controlling device may be a tablet, or a mobiledevice such as, for example, a smart phone. The user may be holding sucha controlling device, or may have it adjacent the user, or it may beplaced in the user's clothes such as in a pocket. The device may beconfigured to send signal information to the electronic device on apredetermined basis, and the signal information may include locationinformation. As such, as the user adjusts position or moves to anotherlocation the electronic device may be updated with the new location ofthe user. The signal information may be transmitted at intermittent timeintervals, as well as upon any movement of the controlling device.

Additionally, the electronic device may be preprogrammed with ownershipinformation for each controlling device. Optional user identifier 330may have access to or may store the identities of family members basedon their personal devices. For example, in many households each memberof the family has his or her own cell phone or tablet. These devices maybe used as controlling devices for the electronic device, and useridentifier 330 may inform the electronic device of the identity ofparticular users located by the electronic device. Once a specific userwho has been located has further been identified, this user may bedetermined to be a controlling user by the electronic device. Whenmultiple controlling devices are located and identified at anyparticular time, the electronic device may determine a controlling useras any of the users who may provide input to the electronic device, orbased on a predetermined hierarchy of controllers.

Once the electronic device has located and/or identified one or moreusers, interaction determining module 340 may be used to determine alevel of interaction for the one or more users. Such a determination maybe based at least in part on the location of one or more of the users,and can be used in one or more accommodation functions performed by theelectronic device. The determination for level of interaction may bebased on any predetermined scale such as on a numeric range, e.g. 1-100with one being a very low level of engagement and 100 being a very highlevel of engagement, or more simply based on a high, medium, or lowlevel of interaction. If a user is in close proximity to the electronicdevice, such as sitting on a couch watching television, the device maydetermine a high level of interaction. However, if the user isdetermined to be further from the electronic device, such as in anadjacent room, e.g. an adjacent kitchen or nearby bathroom, theelectronic device may determine a low level of interaction. Level ofinteraction may also be determined based on inputs received from acontrolling device as well. For example, if a user has consistentlyutilized fast-forward or other technology to skip commercials during abroadcast, these received instructions may be utilized to determine alevel of interaction as well.

Once the application 300 has determined one or more user locations orlevels of interaction, the electronic device may perform at least oneaccommodation function via the accommodation performing module 350. Theaccommodation function may be based at least in part on either or bothof the determined level of interaction for the user or the location ofthe user. The accommodation may include adjustment to a broadcast beingdisplayed, or an adjustment of at least one audiovisual componentassociated with the electronic device. For example, the accommodationmay include automatically adjusting an audio component such as a speakersystem or configuration. When a user has been determined to be in aspecific location in relation to the electronic device or the system asa whole, the accommodation may include balancing sound, such as asurround sound system, in order to direct the sound more appropriatelytowards the viewer. The accommodation may also include automaticallyadjusting a video component or the display itself. For example, a usermay prefer widescreen format, or an original version, of content beingdisplayed on a display device coupled with the electronic device.Another user may prefer the format to be adjusted as needed to betteroccupy display space available. These preferences may be stored on orotherwise be accessible by the electronic device, and then when eachparticular user is interacting with the electronic device theaccommodation may include automatically adjusting the display to thepreferred format of that user. These and other accommodations will bediscussed in further detail with respect to the methods described below.

Optional content transmitter 360 may be used to transmit audio and/orvisual material to one or more display devices, and may further be usedto transmit additional material in conjunction with accommodations beingperformed as will be described in further detail below. The electronicdevice may include user inputs as previously identified for receivinguser instructions or otherwise allowing the user to interact withapplication 300. For example, a user may instruct the device to transmitfor display a menu with which the user may interact, or the user mayrespond to displays or interactive messages presented by the electronicdevice. Additional aspects of such messages are described further below.

The systems and devices previously described may be used in performingvarious methods. FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of a method 400 foraccommodating a user of an electronic device. Method 400 may beperformed using any of the systems or components previously described.Method 400 may allow for an electronic device to locate one or moreusers and to adjust one or more settings of various components based onuser location and/or preferences of particular users. Each step ofmethod 400 may be performed at or by a single electronic device, such asan STB, DVR, or mobile device, for example, or by multiple devicescommunicating with one another. Means for performing each step of method400 include an electronic device and/or the various components of anelectronic device or distribution system, such as those detailed inrelation to FIGS. 1-3. Method 400 may be performed using a computerizeddevice, such as a device incorporating some or all of the components ofcomputer system 600 of FIG. 6.

At step 410, an electronic device locates one or more users. Theelectronic device may perform a scan of surrounding areas in order todetermine user location, or the electronic device may receive locationinformation from a user or a controlling device being operated by auser. At optional step 420, the electronic device may identify at leastone user as a controlling user subsequent to locating the user. Theidentity of the controlling user may be based on specific personal data,such as ownership of the controlling device, or may more generally bebased on a location of the user. For example, the electronic device maybe preprogrammed with favorite locations for particular users, such asif each member of a family has a particular position from which theyinteract with the electronic device. Accordingly, based on a user beinglocated in a particular position and identified either by the electronicdevice or controlling device, the electronic device may compare thislocation with such favorite locations and determine the identity of theuser. At optional step 430, the electronic device may present a messageto the located user either via a coupled display device or via acontrolling device requesting confirmation of the identity of the user.For example, if the user is located in a position normally associatedwith or preprogrammed to be the location for a mother within a family,the message presented may include a query similar to, “Are you mom?” Themessage may further include response options including yes/no or alsothe ability to select the user based on preprogrammed identities.Additionally, selecting no may present a subsequent message with each ofa set of preprogrammed identities for selection by the user.

Once the location and/or identity of one or more of the users has beendetermined, the electronic device may determine a level of interactionfor one or more of the users based at least in part on the location ofthe one or more users. Determining the level of interaction for one ormore users may occur in numerous ways, and may be used to performaccommodations or enact preferences for a user. In disclosedembodiments, if the user is determined to be relatively near theelectronic device, such as a favorite position on a couch or chair, orwithin a pre-designated distance of the electronic device such as up to2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 13, 15, etc., feet from the electronic device, the usermay be determined to have a high level of interaction or engagement withthe electronic device. In disclosed embodiments, if the user isdetermined to be past a predefined distance from the electronic device,such as more than 5, 7, 10, 15, etc., feet from the electronic device,the user may be determined to have a low level of interaction orengagement with the electronic device. Additionally, by interacting withthe electronic device including through a controlling device, a user mayselect a level of engagement or interaction that is then used by theelectronic device. Once this determination has been made, the electronicdevice may perform one or more accommodations at step 450.

At least one accommodation may be performed with the electronic devicebased at least in part on the determined level of interaction for theone or more users or the location of the one or more users. Theaccommodations may be performed automatically or after a request hasbeen presented to a user. The accommodations may include adjustments toa broadcast being displayed, audio characteristics or components, orvideo characteristics or components. As one example, the accommodationperformed may include an automatic adjustment of the display propertyfor displayed audiovisual content based on a predetermined preference ofa controlling user. For example, 3-D displays utilizing a parallaxbarrier may be associated with the electronic device such that when auser has been located, the barrier may be adjusted automatically by theelectronic device to optimize the display for that user location. Such abarrier may also be appropriately tuned for multiple viewers, or mayadjust a first view based on the location of a first viewer, a secondview based on the location of a second viewer, etc. for the number ofviewers located. One such example may involve a split screenpresentation, such as with a video game, for multiple viewers.

As previously described, if a particular user prefers the display to beadjusted in one or more ways to maximize display space of a coupleddisplay device, this adjustment may be performed automatically when thatparticular user is located or identified by the electronic device. Ifthe user has been determined to have a high level of interaction orengagement with the electronic device, the accommodation may includemaking available at least one interactive component of a broadcast beingtransmitted from the electronic device to the display device. Forexample, many broadcasts include additional content that can bedisplayed on an additional screen or as additional content with thebroadcast, such as live updates by the show characters via Twitter®during a broadcast. If the user is determined to have a high level ofinteraction, the electronic device may continue to provide suchadditional content with which the user may interact. Additionally, basedon an identity of a user, advertisements may be provided that have beenselected based on demographics for the particular user. In embodimentsthe advertisements are chosen based on identity of a household, such asgeographic information, and in embodiments the advertisements areselected based on specific user identity, such as by age, gender, race,etc. to provide targeted advertising to the interacting user.

A user may be determined to have a low level of interaction as well. Forexample, the user may move from the general area associated with theelectronic device for numerous reasons including to take a phone call,to go to the bathroom, or to go to the kitchen for a snack, etc.Although the user may have previously been determined to have a highlevel of interaction, the electronic device may then change thedetermination of the user to have a low level of interaction with thedevice. In response, the electronic device may perform a number ofaccommodating actions. For example, the accommodation may includeautomatically transmitting an interactive message to the display deviceor to a controlling device requesting a response from the user. Therequest may include a variety of information including whether the userwishes to pause a broadcast, transfer broadcast from the display devicecommunicatively coupled with the electronic device to an alternativedisplay device, or whether the user wishes the electronic device and/orassociated devices to be switched off. The electronic device may performappropriate action if it does not receive a response after apredetermined amount of time. For example if no response is providedafter a number of minutes, e.g. up to 5, 10, 15, 20, etc., theelectronic device may automatically power down one or more associateddevices including the electronic device itself.

A user may also respond indicating that he or she wishes to remainengaged with the broadcast, which may include a network broadcast,on-demand content, a movie display such as from a DVD, etc. For example,the user may elect to have the audiovisual content transferred to analternate display, such as a tablet or an alternative display devicelocated elsewhere. As would be understood, a variety of otheraccommodations may be performed that are encompassed by this technology.

FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment of a method 500 for performing auser accommodation according to the present technology. Method 500 maybe performed using any of the systems or components previouslydescribed. Method 500 may allow for a user to be located and/oridentified such that accommodations can be enacted by an electronicdevice. Each step of method 500 may be performed by an electronicdevice, such as an STB, DVR, etc., or may be performed with more thanone device in communication with one another. Means for performing eachstep of method 500 include a first electronic device and/or the variouscomponents of an electronic device or distribution system, such as thosedetailed in relation to FIGS. 1-3. Method 500 may represent a moredetailed embodiment of method 400, or an alternative embodiment tomethod 400. Method 500 may be performed using a computerized device,such as a device incorporating some or all of the components of computersystem 600 of FIG. 6.

At step 510, the electronic device may locate one or more controllingdevices. Controlling devices may include any device previously describedincluding a remote control, a mobile device, a videogame controller, acomputing device, etc. In disclosed embodiments, the controlling devicemay include a clip, a lanyard, or some other mechanism by which thecontroller may be coupled with the user. The one or more controllingdevices may be located based on information transmitted between thecontrolling devices and the electronic device. For example, thecontrolling devices may transmit continuous or intermittent updates tothe electronic device that include location information.

The location information for the one or more controlling devices may beused to associate one or more of the controlling devices with one ormore users at step 520. For example, a controlling device may beassociated with the user based on presumed proximity of the user to thecontrolling device, and in disclosed embodiments may be based onpredetermined identifiers for specific controlling devices. For example,identification information for mobile phones for each member of thefamily may be stored on the electronic device. These mobile phones maybe configured to operate as controlling devices for the electronicdevice and thus when the electronic device determines a particularmobile phone is being utilized to operate the electronic device, theelectronic device may be able to access stored data to determine aparticular identity associated with the mobile phone. In disclosedembodiments, the electronic device may be or may not be associated witha videogame system having one or more videogame controllers. Thesecontrollers may be connected so as to identify a first player, a secondplayer, etc. and the electronic device may be able to locate andassociate particular users based on the location of the particularcontrollers. Method 500 may also optionally include determining a levelof interaction for users at step 530 such as previously described.

The method 500 may also include performing an accommodation function atstep 540. The accommodations may include one or more adjustments todevices associated with the electronic device as well as to audiovisualcontent being displayed. The accommodations may include any of thepreviously discussed accommodations, as well as further accommodationsdescribed here. For example, the user may have been determined to belocated at a certain position, such as on a chair or couch, based on oneor more of the location mechanisms previously discussed, e.g. based on amobile phone associated with the user and acting as a controlling devicefor the electronic device. During a commercial break of a broadcast, orsome other nondescript time, the user may move to another locationbringing the controlling device with him. For example, a user may get upand move into an adjoining room such as a kitchen to prepare a snack.

The controlling device may update the electronic device on the changingcondition, such as via intermittent signals transmitted while thecontrolling device is stationary and through continuous updates whilethe controlling device is moving. The electronic device may then performaccommodation functions such as by adjusting the sound through anassociated sound system. The sound profile may be rebalanced by theelectronic device as the user moves to maintain a quality sound profile.As one example, the electronic device may reconfigure the speakers suchas to move the sounds presented through side speakers to be adjusted andpresented through a front speaker, for example if the user has moved toa kitchen located in line with but further from a chair or couch infront of the electronic device. Alternatively, if a user has beendetermined to move to an alternative area, such as the kitchen orbathroom, the electronic device may stop or pause a program beingplayed, for example, and may also change applications being utilized,such as play music including from a predetermined favorite station ofthe identified user. Additionally, if a user moves to a differentlocation taking the controlling device with him, the controlling devicemay utilize alternative input mechanisms for control, such as voice. Indisclosed embodiments, the system may also utilize one or more filtersto discriminate against background noise or voices other than the user,for example.

As another example, many video games include multiple-player interactionand may utilize a split screen display to provide a perspective for eachof the players. In disclosed embodiments, the electronic device maydetermine the location of each player interacting, and adjust thedisplay accordingly. For example, in a two player scenario, if playerone is seated on the left and player two is seated on the right, theelectronic device may determine the location of each player andreconfigure a two-person display to have player one's view on the sameside as where player one sitting. If the two players happened to switchposition, based on the new position of the controllers, the electronicdevice may also switch the player's views accordingly.

In disclosed embodiments the electronic device may utilize both a scanfunction as well as location information for particular controllingdevices in conjunction with one another. In this way, if the userhappens to move away from a viewing location, but leave a controllingdevice at the location, the electronic device may still be able todetermine that the user is no longer engaged with the electronic device.Accordingly, the electronic device may perform further accommodationfunctions, such as presenting a message on the display after apredetermined amount of time as described previously, where the messageincludes a request for response based on a determined inactivity, suchas if the user has left the room. If the user does not respond withinanother predetermined amount of time, the electronic device may shutdown itself along with various other associated components of anentertainment system. Such a message may also be presented at periodicintervals such as after 1, 2, 3, etc. hours to reduce power consumptionif a user has fallen asleep or otherwise disengaged from the broadcast.

The electronic device may also coordinate speaker systems withinfurniture, such as furniture having internal subwoofers or otherspeakers. Based on the location of the user on such a piece offurniture, the electronic device may engage those particular speakersautomatically, which may be performed based on a previously enactedcommunication path between the electronic device and the piece offurniture. In disclosed embodiments the electronic device may performaccommodation functions based on time of day. For example, after acertain time, e.g. 9:00 PM, the electronic device may automaticallyadjust the sound profile such as to reduce the overall sound levelsemitted as well as to perform functions that may include turning off asubwoofer or other speakers.

In other embodiments, multiple electronic devices may coordinate withone another based on a user location. For example, a user may bewatching the broadcast transmitted by or associated with a firstelectronic device. The user may then move to a second location in whicha second electronic device is located. Based on environmental scanningor movement of the controlling device, the two electronic devices maydetermine that the user has moved from the first location to the secondlocation. The electronic devices may then perform an accommodation thatincludes shutting down the first electronic device and any other devicesassociated with the first electronic device, turning on the secondelectronic device, such as switching on from a standby mode in whichscanning may still be performed, turning on additional entertainmentdevices associated with the second electronic device, and continuing thedisplay of the broadcast with which the user was previously engaged.Various other accommodations in line with the numerous examplesdescribed herein are also encompassed by the present technology as wouldbe generally understood.

FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of a computer system 600. A computersystem 600 as illustrated in FIG. 6 may be incorporated into devicessuch as an STB, a first electronic device, DVR, television, mediasystem, personal computer, and the like. Moreover, some or all of thecomponents of the computer system 600 may also be incorporated into aportable electronic device, mobile phone, or other device as describedherein. FIG. 6 provides a schematic illustration of one embodiment of acomputer system 600 that can perform some or all of the steps of themethods provided by various embodiments. It should be noted that FIG. 6is meant only to provide a generalized illustration of variouscomponents, any or all of which may be utilized as appropriate. FIG. 6,therefore, broadly illustrates how individual system elements may beimplemented in a relatively separated or relatively more integratedmanner.

The computer system 600 is shown comprising hardware elements that canbe electrically coupled via a bus 605, or may otherwise be incommunication, as appropriate. The hardware elements may include one ormore processors 610, including without limitation one or moregeneral-purpose processors and/or one or more special-purpose processorssuch as digital signal processing chips, graphics accelerationprocessors, and/or the like; one or more input devices 615, which caninclude without limitation a mouse, a keyboard, a camera, and/or thelike; and one or more output devices 620, which can include withoutlimitation a display device, a printer, and/or the like.

The computer system 600 may further include and/or be in communicationwith one or more non-transitory storage devices 625, which can comprise,without limitation, local and/or network accessible storage, and/or caninclude, without limitation, a disk drive, a drive array, an opticalstorage device, a solid-state storage device, such as a random accessmemory (“RAM”), and/or a read-only memory (“ROM”), which can beprogrammable, flash-updateable, and/or the like. Such storage devicesmay be configured to implement any appropriate data stores, includingwithout limitation, various file systems, database structures, and/orthe like.

The computer system 600 might also include a communications subsystem630, which can include without limitation a modem, a network card(wireless or wired), an infrared communication device, a wirelesscommunication device, and/or a chipset such as a Bluetooth™ device, an802.11 device, a WiFi device, a WiMax device, cellular communicationfacilities, etc., and/or the like. The communications subsystem 630 mayinclude one or more input and/or output communication interfaces topermit data to be exchanged with a network such as the network describedbelow to name one example, other computer systems, television, and/orany other devices described herein. Depending on the desiredfunctionality and/or other implementation concerns, a portableelectronic device or similar device may communicate image and/or otherinformation via the communications subsystem 630. In other embodiments,a portable electronic device, e.g. the first electronic device, may beincorporated into the computer system 600, e.g., an electronic device orSTB, as an input device 615. In many embodiments, the computer system600 will further comprise a working memory 635, which can include a RAMor ROM device, as described above.

The computer system 600 also can include software elements, shown asbeing currently located within the working memory 635, including anoperating system 640, device drivers, executable libraries, and/or othercode, such as one or more application programs 645, which may comprisecomputer programs provided by various embodiments, and/or may bedesigned to implement methods, and/or configure systems, provided byother embodiments, as described herein. Merely by way of example, one ormore procedures described with respect to the methods discussed above,such as those described in relation to FIGS. 4 and 5, might beimplemented as code and/or instructions executable by a computer and/ora processor within a computer; in an aspect, then, such code and/orinstructions can be used to configure and/or adapt a general purposecomputer or other device to perform one or more operations in accordancewith the described methods.

A set of these instructions and/or code might be stored on anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as the storagedevice(s) 625 described above. In some cases, the storage medium mightbe incorporated within a computer system, such as computer system 600.In other embodiments, the storage medium might be separate from acomputer system e.g., a removable medium, such as a compact disc, and/orprovided in an installation package, such that the storage medium can beused to program, configure, and/or adapt a general purpose computer withthe instructions/code stored thereon. These instructions might take theform of executable code, which is executable by the computer system 600and/or might take the form of source and/or installable code, which,upon compilation and/or installation on the computer system 600 e.g.,using any of a variety of generally available compilers, installationprograms, compression/decompression utilities, etc., then takes the formof executable code.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that substantialvariations may be made in accordance with specific requirements. Forexample, customized hardware might also be used, and/or particularelements might be implemented in hardware, software including portablesoftware, such as applets, etc., or both. Further, connection to othercomputing devices such as network input/output devices may be employed.

As mentioned above, in one aspect, some embodiments may employ acomputer system such as the computer system 600 to perform methods inaccordance with various embodiments of the technology. According to aset of embodiments, some or all of the procedures of such methods areperformed by the computer system 600 in response to processor 610executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions, which mightbe incorporated into the operating system 640 and/or other code, such asan application program 645, contained in the working memory 635. Suchinstructions may be read into the working memory 635 from anothercomputer-readable medium, such as one or more of the storage device(s)625. Merely by way of example, execution of the sequences ofinstructions contained in the working memory 635 might cause theprocessor(s) 610 to perform one or more procedures of the methodsdescribed herein. Additionally or alternatively, portions of the methodsdescribed herein may be executed through specialized hardware.

The terms “machine-readable medium” and “computer-readable medium,” asused herein, refer to any medium that participates in providing datathat causes a machine to operate in a specific fashion. In an embodimentimplemented using the computer system 600, various computer-readablemedia might be involved in providing instructions/code to processor(s)610 for execution and/or might be used to store and/or carry suchinstructions/code. In many implementations, a computer-readable mediumis a physical and/or tangible storage medium. Such a medium may take theform of a non-volatile media or volatile media. Non-volatile mediainclude, for example, optical and/or magnetic disks, such as the storagedevice(s) 625. Volatile media include, without limitation, dynamicmemory, such as the working memory 635.

Common forms of physical and/or tangible computer-readable mediainclude, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk,magnetic tape, or any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, any other opticalmedium, punchcards, papertape, any other physical medium with patternsof holes, a RAM, a PROM, EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip orcartridge, or any other medium from which a computer can readinstructions and/or code.

Various forms of computer-readable media may be involved in carrying oneor more sequences of one or more instructions to the processor(s) 610for execution. Merely by way of example, the instructions may initiallybe carried on a magnetic disk and/or optical disc of a remote computer.A remote computer might load the instructions into its dynamic memoryand send the instructions as signals over a transmission medium to bereceived and/or executed by the computer system 600.

The communications subsystem 630 and/or components thereof generallywill receive signals, and the bus 605 then might carry the signalsand/or the data, instructions, etc. carried by the signals to theworking memory 635, from which the processor(s) 610 retrieves andexecutes the instructions. The instructions received by the workingmemory 635 may optionally be stored on a non-transitory storage device825 either before or after execution by the processor(s) 610.

The methods, systems, and devices discussed above are examples. Variousconfigurations may omit, substitute, or add various procedures orcomponents as appropriate. For instance, in alternative configurations,the methods may be performed in an order different from that described,and/or various stages may be added, omitted, and/or combined. Also,features described with respect to certain configurations may becombined in various other configurations. Different aspects and elementsof the configurations may be combined in a similar manner. Also,technology evolves and, thus, many of the elements are examples and donot limit the scope of the disclosure or claims.

Specific details are given in the description to provide a thoroughunderstanding of exemplary configurations including implementations.However, configurations may be practiced without these specific details.For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, andtechniques have been shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoidobscuring the configurations. This description provides exampleconfigurations only, and does not limit the scope, applicability, orconfigurations of the claims. Rather, the preceding description of theconfigurations will provide those skilled in the art with an enablingdescription for implementing described techniques. Various changes maybe made in the function and arrangement of elements without departingfrom the spirit or scope of the disclosure.

Also, configurations may be described as a process which is depicted asa flow diagram or block diagram. Although each may describe theoperations as a sequential process, many of the operations can beperformed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of theoperations may be rearranged. A process may have additional steps notincluded in the figure. Furthermore, examples of the methods may beimplemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode,hardware description languages, or any combination thereof. Whenimplemented in software, firmware, middleware, or microcode, the programcode or code segments to perform the necessary tasks may be stored in anon-transitory computer-readable medium such as a storage medium.Processors may perform the described tasks.

Having described several example configurations, various modifications,alternative constructions, and equivalents may be used without departingfrom the spirit of the disclosure. For example, the above elements maybe components of a larger system, wherein other rules may takeprecedence over or otherwise modify the application of the technology.Also, a number of steps may be undertaken before, during, or after theabove elements are considered. Accordingly, the above description doesnot bind the scope of the claims.

Where a range of values is provided, it is understood that eachintervening value, to the smallest fraction of the unit of the lowerlimit, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, between the upperand lower limits of that range is also specifically disclosed. Eachsmaller range between any stated value or intervening value in a statedrange and any other stated or intervening value in that stated range isencompassed. The upper and lower limits of those smaller ranges mayindependently be included or excluded in the range, and each range whereeither, neither, or both limits are included in the smaller ranges isalso encompassed within the invention, subject to any specificallyexcluded limit in the stated range. Where the stated range includes oneor both of the limits, ranges excluding either or both of those includedlimits are also included.

As used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an”,and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictatesotherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a user” includes a pluralityof such users, and reference to “the processor” includes reference toone or more processors and equivalents thereof known to those skilled inthe art, and so forth.

Also, the words “comprise”, “comprising”, “contains”, “containing”,“include”, “including”, and “includes”, when used in this specificationand in the following claims, are intended to specify the presence ofstated features, integers, components, or steps, but they do notpreclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,integers, components, steps, acts, or groups.

What is claimed:
 1. An electronic device comprising: at least oneaudiovisual content input component; at least one output componentcommunicatively coupled with at least one display device; one or moreprocessors; and memory communicatively coupled with and readable by theone or more processors and having stored therein processor-readableinstructions, which when executed by the one or more processors causethe one or more processors to: perform locating functions to locate oneor more users of the electronic device, wherein at least one user of theone or more users is located based at least in part on an identifiedlocation of a controlling device, wherein the electronic device receivessignal information to detect changing locations of the controllingdevice; based at least in part on the locating functions: detect a firstlocation of the at least one user, and determine a first level ofinteraction for the at least one user; detect a second location of theat least one user, and determine that the at least one user has movedfrom the first location to the second location, where the first locationis more proximate to a display device than the second location is; basedat least in part on the second location, determine a second level ofinteraction for the at least one user, wherein the electronic devicedetermines that the second level of interaction corresponds to a lowlevel of interaction; and perform at least one accommodation functionbased at least in part on the low level of interaction for the at leastone user, the at least one accommodation function comprisingautomatically transmitting an interactive message to the controllingdevice, the interactive message comprising a request for response basedon inactivity determined by the electronic device.
 2. The electronicdevice of claim 1, wherein the electronic device determines that thefirst level of interaction corresponds to a high level of interactionand the electronic device performs the at least one accommodationfunction based at least in part on a transition from the high level ofinteraction to the low level of interaction.
 3. The electronic device ofclaim 2, wherein the at least one accommodation function comprisesautomatically transferring a broadcast from the display device to analternative display device.
 4. The electronic device of claim 2, whereinthe interactive message comprises a request to transfer a broadcast fromthe display device communicatively coupled with the electronic device toan alternative display device.
 5. The electronic device of claim 2,wherein the at least one accommodation function comprises adjusting adisplay format.
 6. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the one ormore processors cause the electronic device to perform a scan to locatethe one or more users.
 7. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein thecontrolling device is communicatively coupled with the electronicdevice.
 8. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the accommodationfunction comprises automatically adjusting an audio component and avideo component.
 9. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the one ormore processors are further caused to identify the at least one user asa controlling user subsequent to locating the at least one user.
 10. Theelectronic device of claim 9, wherein the at least one accommodationfunction comprises an automatic adjustment of a display property foraudiovisual content based on a predetermined preference of thecontrolling user.
 11. A method of accommodating a user of an electronicdevice, the method comprising: performing locating functions to locateone or more users of the electronic device, the performing locatingfunctions comprising: locating at least one user of the one or moreusers based at least in part on an identified location of a controllingdevice, and receiving signal information and detecting changinglocations of the controlling device based at least in part on the signalinformation; based at least in part on the locating functions: detectinga first location of the at least one user, and determining a first levelof interaction for the at least one user; detecting a second location ofthe at least one user, and determine that the at least one user hasmoved from the first location to the second location, where the firstlocation is more proximate to a display device than the second locationis; based at least in part on the second location, determining a secondlevel of interaction for the at least one user, wherein the electronicdevice determines that the second level of interaction corresponds to alow level of interaction; and performing at least one accommodationfunction based at least in part on the low level of interaction for theat least one user, the at least one accommodation function comprisingautomatically transmitting an interactive message to the controllingdevice, the interactive message comprising a request for response basedon inactivity determined by the electronic device.
 12. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the determining the first level of interaction for theat least one user comprises determining that the first level ofinteraction corresponds to a high level of interaction and theelectronic device performs the at least one accommodation function basedat least in part on a transition from the high level of interaction tothe low level of interaction.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the atleast one accommodation function comprises automatically transferring abroadcast from the display device to an alternative display device. 14.The method of claim 12, wherein the interactive message comprises arequest to transfer a broadcast from the display device communicativelycoupled with the electronic device to an alternative display device. 15.The method of claim 12, wherein the at least one accommodation functioncomprises adjusting a display format.
 16. The method of claim 11,further comprising causing the electronic device to perform a scan tolocate the one or more users.